Wire winding and welding device



Oct. l2, 1948. F. T. MAY Erm. 2,451,169

WIRE WINDING AND WELDING DEVICE Filed Dec. 25, 1943 2 Sheets-Sheet l/A/E'RUA 77MEz 15 1617 FWN/A25 INVENTORS E' T7 M/iy Oct. 12, 1948. p11-MAY ETL 2,451,169

WIRE WINDING AND WELDING DEVICE Filed Dec. 23, 1943 2 Sheets-Sheet 2INVENTORS F'Tt My 2,9. KE/faea'.

B umm ATTORNEY Patented Oct. 12, 1948 WIRE WINDING AND WELDING DEVICEYFrederick T. May, Verona, and Richard A. Rehberg, Livingston, N. J.,assignors to Westinghouse Electric Corporation, East Pittsburgh, Pa., acorporation of Pennsylvania Application Beceniber 23, 1943, Serial No.515,342

15 Claims.

Thisinvention'rela-tes to the winding yof wire =andmore particularly, toa means and method for windingwire on, and welding the-ends thereof to,a device `adapted to act as a cathode.

The primary object `of our invention, generally considered-is ltoconveniently and efficiently applyand secure Va `coil of wire on anarticle, such as a hollow cylinder` -of nickel or the like, suchoperation being-,effected at a desired time, such as prior and/orsubsequent to the application loi anfelectron-emission coating thereon,as in order to increase the effective electron emitting areaand/orimprove the coating adherence.

Another object of our invention lis to wind wire by handon a sleeve,which may eventually functionxas Van electron-emitting cathode, whilecontrolling the welding of the ends jof `said wire thereto by means. ofa ped-al.

A further object of `our invention is to provide a' holder for `acathode sleeve which may be turned and simultaneously movedlongitudinally to a limited-extent ingeither direction, while the end`of a wire to be wound thereon is held by oneof clamps disposed one ateach end of said sleeve, whereby said Wire maybe wound beginning ateither end of said sleeve.

A stillA- further object oi our invention is to provide a. wire windingand welding device in which the 'spool from which the wire is fed isheld `by a tensioning device and thewire passes therefrom through afriction clutch, whereby it iskept from tangling in case of breakage.

An additional object of our invention is to proviole a hand windingmachine for wire which is adapted for winding in either direction andprovided with a limit stop at both ends to prevent overrunning.

Another object of the invention is to rprovide a wire winding andwelding device, making use of a head which carries the parts and a camunder the control 4of a. pedal which drops ysaid head into engagementwith la bottom electrode at the proper time, for effecting the weldingoperation.

A further object of our invention is `to provide a method of applying `acoil of Wire to a sleeve adapted to function as an oxide-coated cathodefor a discharge device, involving the ywelding of one end of the wire tothe sleeve, rotating said sleeve while simultaneously moving it endwisewhile the wire is fed thereto fro-m a stationary position, and nallywelding the other end of said wire to said sleeve.

Other objects and advantages ci the invention, relating to theVparticular arrangement and construction of the various parts, willbecome apparent as the description proceeds.

Referring to 'the scale drawing:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of wire-winding `and weldingapparatus.involving our inven- 131011.

Fig. 2 is an elevational viewof the winding aparatus detached from. thewelding apparatus, but showing the welding electrodes.

Fig.` 3 is a horizontal sectional view on the line ill-III of Fig. 2, inthe direction-of the arrows.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view on an enlarged scale onthe line IV-IV of Fig, 3, in the direction -of` the arrows.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view on the line V--VY of Fig. 4, inYthe direction of the arrows.

Fig. 6 is a sectional view of a wire-wound 'hcllow cylindrical element.

Referring to the drawing in detaiLlike parts being designated by likereference characters, there is shown Welding apparatus. in Fig. 1 whichmay correspond with that described and claimed in the Holloway-PatentNo. 2,330,055, dated September 2l, 1943. In other words, the table orother support H may correspond with that of the 4same numloer insaidpatent, the bracket l2 may agree with that -similarly'numbered vinthe patent, and corresponding vcomments apply to the shaft I4, the armI5, the movable electrode I6, the set screw H, the flexible cable I8,the vtransformer 2I, the xed electrode 22, the socket member 23, the setscrew 25, the hell crank lever 26,

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the arm 21, the spring 28,theforwardly extending `arm 23, the lug .3|,the shoulder 32,v the coil spring 33, the depending arm 34, and theoperating ped-al 35. Other parts may be compared ina similar manner, aswill'be understood by :those skilled in the art.

In the |present instance, the work which in t'he patent is designated bythe reference `character 25, is desirably, but not necessarily, `asleeve or hollow cylinder 35 which may be of nickel or other suitablematerial which is to be coated with electron emission material, eitherprior, subsequent, cr at both times with respect to the application of acoil 3l of wire therearound. Such a coil performs two functions, first,the 4increasing of the electron emitting area, yand second, the moresecure bonding oi the electron-emission material tc the sleeve. Althoughwe have illustrated a sleeve yfor use as a cathode adapted to be heatedto electron-emitting temperature by an internal coil, other uses' forwinding wire-will occur to those skilled in the art.

A preferred embodiment of the winding device of our invention involves abase member 38, which may be in the form of a casting, and which isdesirably secured to the table or other support Il in any desiredmanner. This base carries a standard 39, apertured near its upper end asindicated at 4I to receive a pivot pin 42 securing a head drop armmember 43 thereto. The member 43 is supported by a bell crank device |90pivoted at 48 to the base member 38 and carrying a box cam device 60slidable on a .pin 19 carried by depending portions of said member 43for lowering it when the device |60 is swung counterclockwise, as bydepressing the operating pedal 35. The member 43, in turn, is aperturednear its free end, as indicated at 44, and journaled in said aperture'isa driving-pinion sleeve 45, that is, preferably a sleeve 46 the outerend of which is formed as a pinion 47, although it will be understoodthat the pinion may be separately formed and secured to the sleeve, ifdesired. A handle |92 may serve for turning the member 45, one way orthe other. Meshng with the pinion 47 is a driven gear 48 secured to ashaft 49 as by means of a set screw which shaft is journaled in the drophead arm 43, as indicated most clearly in Fig. 3.

The driving pinion sleeve has an axial pocket 52 which communicates withlongitudinally extended radial slots 53 and 54, said pocket receivingthe stem portion 55 of a cathode sleeve holder I56, and the slots 53 and54 respectively receiving opposite ends of a, pin 51 fixed in, and whichlimits the longitudinal movement of, said sleeve holder 56 with respectto said driving pinion sleeve 45, while insuring that turning movementof the driving pinion sleeve is communicated to said sleeve holder. Thecathode sleeve holder 56 in turn carries a cathode sleeve shaft 58either formed integrally therewith or connected thereto as by means of aset screw (not shown), which shaft is threaded at its outer end, asindicated at 59, in order to carry the cathode sleeve nut 6| whichserves to clamp the cathode sleeve 36 between its conical face 62 and acorresponding face 63 on the outer end portion of the cathode sleeveholder 56.

The cathode sleeve holder 56 and the nut 6I respectively carry wireholder pins 64 and 65 (Figs. 2, 3 and 4) which are slidably mounted in fcorresponding projections 66 and 61. Each pin is apertured, as at 58, atthe end remote from its head to receive a wire. They carry springs 68and 69, respectively, so that when the heads are pushed against theaction of the springs the holes 59 are uncovered, permitting insertionof Wire thereinto, which wire is gripped by the spring return actionupon release of the heads, in order to start the winding operation. Eachpin 64 and 65 desirably has its shank slotted, as indicated at 60, andreceives .a retaining screw 10, thereby preventing undesired removalwhile permitting the necessary pin movement.

The shaft 49 is provided'with an internal thread 1| engaged by anexternal thread 'I2 on a feed screw 73, which carries at its outer end afork 'F4 secured thereto in any desired manner, as by means of a pin 15.The fork 14 straddles the cathode sleeve holder 55 between shoulder orange portions 16 and 11 thereon, in order to effect the desiredlongitudinal or axial movement of said holder during the windingoperation.

The f olk 14 is desirably apertured, as indicated at 78, and receives athreaded stud 'I9 extending from the head drop arm 43, to which it issecured in any desired manner as by means of a pin 8|. On the stud 19are pairs of nuts 82, 83, 84 and 85 which may be locked together inadjusted position, as indicated, in order to predetermine the limits ofmovement of the fork 14 and thereby the corresponding limits of movementof the cathode sleeve 36 carried by the machine.

The wire 99 used for winding sleeves such as 36 or other desiredarticles, may be formed of nickel, molybdenum or other suitable metaland is in the present embodiment carried on a spool 86 mounted on ashaft 8l which is provided with a brake sheave or drum 88 around which acord or braking element 89 passes. The element 89 is urged resilientlyagainst the drum by means of a coil spring 9| acting between a pin 92and a frictionally-held adjustable tension pin 93, whereby said wire maybe drawnfrom the spool as desired under predetermined tension.

After passing olf the spool, the wire goes through a wire guide sleeve94 held in a support rod 80 secured to a lug 90 on the arm member 43.The sleeve carries a finger-controllable pivotally-mountedspring-actuated latch 95, between which and a friction portion 96 ofsleeve 94, the wire passes to the discharge end 91, which may involvev ahardened insert 98, from whence it is desirably wound around the sleeve36 once and then tted in the wire receiving aperture 56 of one of theholding pins, 64 or 65 depending from which end of the sleeve thewinding is to be started. Release of the pin causes its spring to elfectgripping of the wire 99.

Before starting the wire-vvinding operation, the pedal 3.5 is moved fromthe full to the dotted line position shown in Fig. 1, pulling the leveragainst the action of the spring IUI from its full to dotted lineposition, thereby dropping the sleeve 36 carried by the arm 43 onto thexed electrode 22. Further movement of the pedal 35 causes the movableelectrode I6 to engage the wire 99 and weld it to the sleeve 36. Afterthis has been accomplished, the pedal 35 is released to return to itsfull line position under the action of springs 28 and |0I, and thehandle |02 on the sleeve 46 is turned to cause winding of the wire 99 onthe sleeve 36 for the full length allowed between the stop nut 83 on theone hand and 84 on the other.

At the end of the winding operation the wire is welded to the other endof the sleeve 36 by repeating the previously described movement of thepedal 35 from full to dotted line position. When this has beenaccomplished the spool end of the wire is cut loose from the sleeve 36,the nut 6| removed, and the wound sleeve removed therefrom to bereplaced by another sleeve 36, and the winding operation repeated, thistime from the other end and upon turning the handle |92 in the oppositedirection.

From the foregoing disclosure it Will be seen that we have provided awire-winding and welding device which may be used to wind sleevesadapted to act as electron emitting cathodes in discharge devices, aswell as any other articles which it is desired to cover with wire. Timeand trouble is saved by winding such articles alternately rst from oneend and then from the other, means being provided to automatically dropthe article to be wound `upon the fixed welding electrode and thenbringing the movable electrode into welding engagement with the wire atthe top of the sleeve or other article. The machine also involves meansfor insuring that the proper c'arried by said driven gear shaft, meanscarried by said screw for moving said holder longitudinally duringWinding, a handle on said sleeve for turning said holder to wind saidwire on an article carried thereby, and a pedal connected to saidlowering and raising meansv and movable electrode for rst dropping alwindable article carried by said holder upon said fixed electrode andthen dropping said movable electrode upon said article to weld wirethereto.

9. In a device for forming wire-Wound articles, a base, a head drop armpivoted thereto, a cam for lowering and raising said arm, a sleevepivoted in said arm, a driving pinion carried thereby, a driven gearshaft pivoted in said arm, a driven gear carried thereby and meshingwith said pinion, a windable article holder carried by said sleeve andhaving limited longitudinal movement with respect thereto, a fixedwelding electrode disposed below said holder, a movable Weldingelectrode disposed above said holder, a feed screw carried by saiddriven gear shaft, a fork carried by said screw and straddling a portionof said holder for moving the latter longitudinally during winding, wireholder pins mounted on said holder, a support rod extending from saidbase, a wire guide carried thereby, a spool lholder shaft mounted onsaid base, a spool of wire carried thereby and from which wire isfeedable, a handle on said sleeve for turning said holder to wind said:wire on an article carried thereby, and a pedal connected to said camand movable electrode for first dropping a windable article carried bysaid holder upon said fixed electrode and then dropping said movableelectrode'upon vsaid article to weld wire thereto.

'10. In a device for forming wire-wound articles, a holder for one ofsaid articles, means turnably mounting said holder and allowing forlimited longitudinal movement thereof, a shaft, a feed screw threadedthereinto, means for driving said shaft from said holder-mounting meansin'order to operate said screw, means carried by said screw for movingsaid holder longitudinally during winding, means mounted at each end ofsaid holder for clamping an end of a wire at the beginning of awire-winding operation, and means for turning said holder to wind saidwire on a carried article.

11. In a device for forming wire-wound articles, an article holder,means mounting said holder for limited longitudinal movement, a feedscrew, threaded means carrying said screw and driven from saidholder-mounting means in order to cause said screw to movelongitudinally, means carried by said screw for moving said holderlongitudinally during winding, means for securing a wire to said holderbefore beginning the winding operation, a support rod disposed adjacentsaid holder, a Wire guide sleeve carried by said rod, a frictionelement, a Wire guide latch pivoted to said rod and resiliently urgedtoward said friction element, a spool holder shaft, a spool of wirecarried thereby, means for varying the tensionon wire drawn through saidsleeve from said spool, and means for turning said holder to wind wirefrom said spool on an articlecarried by said holder.

12. In a device for forming wire-wound articles, a Windable articleholder, means for movably carrying said holder, a feed screw, meansdriving said screw from said holder-carrying means, a fork carried bysaid screw and strad-dling a portion of said holder, a stud for guidingsaid fork, adjusting means on said stud at opposite sides of said fork,and a handle for turning said holder to wind wire on an article carriedthereby.

13. In a device for forming wire-wound articles, longitudinally movablemeans for supporting an article during winding, turning means slidablycarrying said supporting means, means for feeding wire from a fixedposition to said supported article, means for fastening said wire to oneend portion of said article, drive means between said turning andsupporting means, so that when thelturning means is operated, saidarticle also moves longitudinally a predetermined ldistance with respectthereto, and means for fastening the other end of said wound wire tosaid article.

14. In a device for forming wire-Wound articles, longitudinally movablemeans for supporting an article during winding, turning means slidablycarrying said supporting means, means for feeding wire from a Xedposition to one end portion of said supported article, means for weldingan end of said wire to one end of sai-d article, drive means betweensaid turning and supporting means, so that when the turning means isoperated, said article also moves longitudinally a predetermineddistance with respect thereto, and means for welding the other end ofsaid wound wire to said article.

15. In a device for forming wire-wound articles, a pivote-d head droparm, meansI for raising and lowering said arm, a sleeve pivoted in saidarm, a windable holder turnably carried by said sleeve and havinglimited longitudinal movement with respect thereto, a xed weldingelectrode disposed below said holder, a movable welding electrodedisposed above said holder, a feed screw for moving said holderlongitudinally during winding, means for feeding wire to said holder,means for turning said holder to Wind said wire on an article carriedthereby, and means connected to said movable electrode for dropping aholder-carried article upon said iiXed electrode, and said movableelectrode upon said article, to weld wire thereto.

FREDERICK T. MAY.

RICHARD A. REHBERG.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES y PATENTS Henry Jan. 12, 1937

